Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, the Islamic Republic's arch-enemy, the judiciary's press agency announced Sunday, marking the latest in a series of such cases since a war broke out between the two countries in June.
"The death penalty, imposed on a Mossad spy, was carried out Saturday morning in Qom prison," south of the capital Tehran, reported Mizan.
The Mossad is Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.
Iranian authorities provided no information on the individual’s identity, arrest date, or specific offenses. They only stated that he had been convicted of moharebeh ("waging war against God") and corruption on Earth—the most serious charges in Iran, punishable by death.
In recent months, Iranian authorities have announced multiple arrests for espionage and executed several people found guilty of working with the Mossad.
A law that took effect Wednesday now toughens penalties for individuals accused of spying for Israel as well as the United States, an enemy of Iran for four decades.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday that at least four people were killed in the country’s southeast during attacks blamed on Israel-linked groups.
These incidents occurred on unspecified dates in Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran’s least developed provinces. The region is home to a large Baluch ethnic minority, who practice Sunni Islam in a majority Shia country.
“The mercenary groups affiliated with the sinister Israeli regime” killed “several leading Sunni tribal leaders,” the Guards said, according to their official media outlet Sepah News.
The exact death toll was not specified, but four individuals were mentioned.
Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, regularly sees clashes involving security forces, Baluch rebels, radical Sunni groups, and drug traffickers. Iranian authorities accuse jihadist groups operating in this violent area of having links to Israel.
AFP
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